ROI-NJ.comSleep apnea testing would keep us all saferROI-NJ.comNew Jersey Transit's safety record is atrocious. Thanks to years of reduced funding and neglected capital improvements — and Gov. Chris Christie's penchant for using the agency as a dumping ground for politically connected hacks — NJ Transit's rail ...

Medgadget (blog)Sleep Apnea Device Market is Estimated to Witness a CAGR of 7.6% During the Forecast Period 2017-2023Medgadget (blog)The Global Sleep Apnea Devices Market is growing due to factors such as the rising usage of oral appliances, growing awareness of ill effects of untreated sleep apnea in developed countries, technological advances in diagnostics and therapeutic […]

National Institutes of Health (press release)NIH-funded researchers identify risk factors for sleep apnea during ...National Institutes of Health (press release)Snoring, older age and obesity may increase a pregnant woman's risk for sleep apnea — or interrupted breathing during sleep — according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study, which appears in […]

September 12th, 2009

http://www.FauquierENT.net – Base of tongue reduction is demonstrated here using coblation for patients with severe obstructive sleep apnea. Surgery performed by Dr. Thrasher at The ENT Center of McKinney (Texas) and video produced by Dr. Chang at Fauquier ENT Consultants (Warrenton, VA).

I want to be clear. … I want to be clear. My only interest is to allow people to sleep well. I love working with patients and taking them step by step to a life of good sleep. This field is being inundated by fly by night independent labs that don’t care about patients, only business. If they can get you to jump through 100 hoops (appointments), they will. Medicare standards don’t help. I love to help patients. I just haven’t seen UPPP success for severe apnea. Take care everyone, good luck no matter what.

Absolutely true. … Absolutely true. Some people have alot of tissue that must be removed to open some kind of airway. But it pains me to see patients considering this as an alternative to CPAP just for intolerance to pressure or masks. This procedure does have its merit, but the numbers tell the story.

Just to be clear, … Just to be clear, this surgery IS high risk. All patients spend one night in the Intensive Care Unit and due to risk of swelling, emergency tracheostomy is always a consideration. It’s a rare complication (never happened to me, but I am aware of a few cases throughout the US).

Other risks include permanent tongue paralysis, trouble swallowing, etc. (again, never happened to me, but know of a few cases in the US).

UPPP works for SOME … UPPP works for SOME patients. Not all… Not even close. But for those who have tonsils the size of 2 golf balls, uvula the size of a pinky, and a thick palate, removal of all that is life-changing.

Of course, CPAP is the gold standard and surgery is offered only to those who have tried and failed to get used to it.

On a further note, … On a further note, at least 50% of those who come to see us requesting to have this surgery end up NOT being a surgical candidate. There are some patients we have even refused to do this surgery.

In terms of … In terms of appointments, there 2 prior to surgery and 2 after surgery. The 2 appointments after the surgery is to make sure everything is healing fine and to order the final sleep study to document improvement.

For all patients … For all patients considering this surgery, our office maintains a list of patient names and phone numbers who are willing to talk about their experiences. We have plenty of sleep studies performed in an accredited third party slep lab both before and after the surgery which documents the AHI.